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Daryl Tol
2010 Chamber President
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Last month I regaled you with stories
of woe related to the current
condition of the economy. I’ll try not
to do that again. Instead, I want to
focus on growth. The DeLand Area
Chamber believes effective, wellplanned
growth is essential to the
recovery of the West Volusia economy.
This belief has led our board to
positions on two key issues:
Amendment 4 and Team Volusia.
Amendment 4 will be on the ballot
this November. It is a ballot initiative
designed to create a constitutional
amendment requiring a referendum
vote on every comprehensive land use
change in the state of Florida. Our
Government Affairs Committee has
researched the topic carefully, and has
hosted a balanced public forum on
the topic. Now, with all of the facts on
the table, the DeLand Area Chamber
board has taken a position in
opposition to Amendment 4. This
opposition is based on the following
principles.
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Amendment 4 will be on the ballot
this November. It is a ballot initiative
designed to create a constitutional
amendment requiring a referendum
vote on every comprehensive land use
change in the state of Florida. Our
Government Affairs Committee has
researched the topic carefully, and has
hosted a balanced public forum on
the topic. Now, with all of the facts on
the table, the DeLand Area Chamber
board has taken a position in
opposition to Amendment 4. This
opposition is based on the following
principles.
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Amendment 4 will lead to illinformed
decisions. Many
hundreds of proposed land use
changes will end up on ballots
represented by a brief paragraph
description. The individual voter
will have no ability to fully understand each issue. Our elected
officials spend hours
understanding each change. We as
voters will spend mere moments
and risk making poor decisions.
Following the votes, parties on
both sides will be able to capitalize
on the poor level of information to
file lawsuits against whatever
decisions are made.
-
Amendment 4 will freeze growth.
The politics and legal challenges
that are sure to accompany
Amendment 4 will lead to a
freezing of all growth.
Organizations interested in
entering Florida will look for states
with a more positive economic
environment. Organizations
already in Florida will find it very
difficult to expand.
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Amendment 4 will substantially
increase the cost of elections.
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Where similar laws have passed,
they have failed. The City of St. Pete
Beach passed a nearly identical
plan and due to all of the issues
mentioned above, has had to
reverse the policy.
In taking this position, we do not
mean to imply support for illconsidered
or no-holds-barred
growth. Smart, well-planned growth is
essential. We should spend our time
ensuring that our elected leaders are
held accountable to that standard.
Effective growth requires effective
Economic Development. That is where
Team Volusia comes in. As you recall,
this is a public/private partnership
that is joining with the county and
cities to encourage 1) effective
retention of existing business, and 2)
recruitment of new organizations. Our
Chamber has created an Economic
Development Committee that will be
focused on the creation of a strategic
plan for Economic Development in
West Volusia. The committee will also
focus on ensuring our members are
well represented and encouraged to
participate. As I write this, Team Volusia is in
the process of
finalizing its
board and
executive
committee
and they are reserving a number of
slots for West Volusia leaders. The
better our representation, the more
we will see their work represent the
needs of our community. That is why
we are encouraging the following:
Business involvement: Team Volusia
has agreed to allow not only
individual businesses to pay into the
program and be part of the board or
executive committee, but to allow
groups of businesses to join together
in order to join. That means that all of
the banks in West Volusia could split
the fee and place a representative
onto Team Volusia’ board. For that
matter, 30 small businesses could join
together to do the same. This
involvement is critical. Please contact
me or Jenny for additional
information.
City involvement: At this time the City
of DeLand is moving toward
involvement on the Executive
Committee of Team Volusia. We
applaud this decision. Unfortunately,
(at the time of this printing) Orange
City, Debary and others have not yet
committed to the process. This has the
potential to leave areas of West
Volusia without effective
representation. Our hope is that these
cities will actively engage in this
process. Please do what you can to
encourage your city leaders to
consider this carefully.
Thank you for your personal
involvement in returning our
community to economic stability.
Daryl Tol, President
Board of Directors
